Twitter slams Danica Patrick's opening monologue at ESPY Awards

Danica Patrick hosted the 2018 ESPY Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, and it probably didn’t go the way she had hoped. Much of her opening monologue wasn’t well received by the audience in the room or on Twitter. Some people on Twitter even compared it to her NASCAR career.

Just like her racing career, Danica Patrick’s jokes are crashing and burning. #ESPYS

In reference to last season’s NFL players kneeling in protest, Patrick said, “It’s time to talk about the national anthem controversy.” She then revealed a picture of Fergie, who made headlines with her rendition of the anthem at the NBA All-Star game.

While the joke was fairly innocuous, the reaction of Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long was not. In fact, his shocked look became a meme on social media. Upon seeing it, Long had a “would/wouldn’t” moment and tweeted:

Speaking of NFL players, Dan Marino also became a meme after his flat reaction to Patrick’s joke, “Villanova won their second national championship in three years, which is really amazing and surprising because Catholic schools usually forbid students from going all the way.”

Sure the monologue had some rough patches, but Patrick stuck with it. And while she was throwing shade at the athletes, she also made herself the butt of a joke or two. In one quip about Tiger Woods, she said, “Why do people keep talking about this guy when he isn’t winning? Who does he think he is … me?”